Thank you for your transparent post. I am sorry for how the church has
delegated its orientation to that of men. It is a difficult thing sometimes to
overcome traditions and embrace the biblical standards that Christ brought with
Him that God will pour out His Spirit on his man and maidservants to prophecy
(Acts 2:17).[1] I am also struggling with church membership. As a remarried man,
it is very difficult to overcome the tradition of a “one woman man” that Paul uses
as qualifications to mean just that instead of never having to been divorced, and
to find a Bible indoctrinated church that doesn’t have traditions based off not the
Bible but the Catholic churches traditions that Protestantism sprung from. My
current church does not struggle with the marks that you claimed as working on
other than the membership aspect. Currently my church struggles with its ability to
prioritize evangelism and discipleship. Jesus is explicit to go and make disciples
(Matthew 28:18-20), to go into all the world (Mark 16:15), and that He is sending
us (John 20:21). This is a sore subject among churches that is often tacked up
to be a “job for the professionals.”[2] However, every disciple of Jesus Christ is
called to the great Commission. We are all called to be on mission with Christ,
bringing forth His kingdom that is now and yet to come. d I, too, believe
expository preaching is the most important issue of the 9 marks--when one
gets that right, the other areas will follow. I pray the Lord opens some
doors for you to preach more often.
Getting the gospel right has never been more important in our day (of
course, it was important in the Reformation, but that was a different day).
Advocates of social justice, as important as it is, have tried to insist
everything under the sun is part of the gospel. Paul clearly communicated
the gospel in Romans and then talks about its implications (without adding
to it). Churches need more clarity on it today.
Finally, what you have to say about church membership is valuable in that
more Christians should be taught of the importance of serving in the body
of Christ. We must understand what it means to belong.
I thought it was good when you talked about your experience with women
in ministry. I think it took vulnerability to speak up about your experience
regarding that and I appreciated reading about your story.
As Dever states the responsibilities and duties of a church member are the
responsibilities and duties of the Christian.[1] Overall, what we’re called to do
individually be God’s word, we are called to do within the context of the
family of Christ as well. This, in my opinion, is a very simple way to break
it down to someone that may be new to the faith and wondering about
what it means to be a member of the local body of believers.
Overall, I enjoyed your post and I hope you have a great rest of the
semester.
